Frame of my Mind

It’s only Friday, and I still have a gathering to conduct tomorrow evening but today I returned to the nest and received a pile of gifts from my family. Unfortunately I can’t disclose exactly what I got just yet because I can’t wait to show my friends in person. What I can tell you, though, is that I am thoroughly excited and overjoyed – my mum has put so much thought into her gifts and they will stay with me for the rest of my life.

Most of my friends already knew that my dad would be getting me a new lens for my camera, a Canon EOS 350D which I got for my 18th birthday. I picked out the Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4.0-5.6 IS USM lens. It’s a general purpose lens (not exceptionally great for either macro shots, landscapes or architecture) but I am really, really loving the image stabilisation. My camera didn’t come with it built in (most modern DSLRs these days do) and so I’ve always had to take photos with the flash enabled in order to get something remotely shake-free. I never liked shots taken in dim light with flash, because everything looks far too bright (even if I adjust the white balance). Not to mention the reflection can downright ruin some shots. This lens is a miracle – it makes a huge difference. The above photo is an example. I can’t wait to buy a polarising filter for it with my birthday money.

Now, on to the plans for tomorrow. I’m going out early in the morning with my mum to get a certain something sorted out, and Justin and Helen are arriving together at 3:20pm. We will have a long while to get settled down in preparation for the evening which I hope will be really fun. It won’t be a huge party (though Naomi apparently thinks she is able to turn it into a riot…) but I am looking forward to a pleasant time chatting with friends I haven’t seen in months. I will be updating the blog with details after the event, of course.